


Of Monsters and Men

by dweetwise



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Flashbacks, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Side ship Jake/Quentin, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Were-Creatures, Werebear Jeff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25915060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dweetwise/pseuds/dweetwise
Summary: Jeff reflects on how despite being cursed and stuck in a nightmarish realm, having Ace by his side makes everything okay.(Aka. Jeff is a werebear and loves one (1) silly old man)
Relationships: Jeffrey "Jeff" Johansen/Ace Visconti
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Of Monsters and Men

**Author's Note:**

> got a tumblr request for werebear!jeff x ace and went a little overboard with the fluff

Jeff doesn’t know when he’s last been this happy. The warm laughter of the man next to him never fails to calm his nerves, and he smiles at the joke the other cracks despite it not being one of his best.

Ace is gesturing animatedly, in the middle of telling another story of riches and grandeur from his youth, a glint in his familiar brown eyes and a grin staying on his face the entire time. Jeff knows the other can come across as overbearing to some, seemingly never running out of bad jokes and incredulous tales, but Jeff can’t see himself ever tiring of hearing Ace talk.

One of Ace’s hands nearly smacks him in the face when he tries to show just how big of a pile of poker chips he won in the illegal game. Jeff is thankful for his quick reflexes when he’s able to grab the eager hand before it hits his brow, and Ace pauses mid-sentence to offer him a sheepish grin, looking apologetic.

When Jeff brings the hand to his mouth and brushes his lips over the dry knuckles, Ace’s expression softens into a fond smile that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners. When Ace looks at him like that, it’s almost enough for Jeff to forget what a monster he is.

* * *

He would have never imagined letting the other survivors know about his curse could allow him to grow closer to some of them. He expected everyone to be scared and disgusted, distancing themselves and maybe even kicking him out of their shared camp. He wouldn’t have blamed them; who would want to share their only safe place with a werebear?

Instead, the majority had been surprisingly understanding, and Jeff was taken aback by just how worried Claudette and some of the others were about him instead of fearing for themselves. A few of the more tactical survivors like Bill vowed not to treat him any differently than before, recognizing the strategic advantage of his strength in trials.

But by far the biggest surprise had been Ace. The other reacting to the revelation with humor was nothing out of the ordinary, but he also made it a point to constantly _be_ there, often butting in with a well-timed joke when the likes of David or Tapp were giving Jeff a hard time.

“Gentlemen, please!” Ace had said with a warm smile, a hand on Tapp’s tense shoulder as he managed to slink between David and Jeff. “You know Jeff wouldn’t hurt a fly—he’s a big softie!”

“He’s unpredictable—” Tapp tried to argue.

“Hmm, see, I recall a certain ms. Kimura breaking my arm on one occasion, not to mention David clocking Quentin square in the face. Oh, remember the time Meg kicked Ash and broke his knee? That was fun!”

“What’s yer point?” David spat.

“That you should be grateful the one with this power is someone with better self-control,” Ace said and stared David straight in the eye, and Jeff saw defiance burning in the gambler's usually friendly eyes.

* * *

“I’m sorry baby, I got a little carried away,” Ace says, snapping Jeff out of his thoughts. “You know you can just tell me to shut up.”

“And miss hearing about the biggest jackpot of the decade? Not a chance,” he says with a smile, giving Ace’s hand a squeeze before releasing it.

“Sweet of you to pretend you haven’t heard this story ten times before,” Ace smirks, adjusting his wide-brimmed hat before leaning closer.

“My favorite part is how the pot gets bigger every retelling,” Jeff teases, and gets an amused huff and a light slap against his arm for his troubles.

“Had to tone it down at first, lest you not believe me,” Ace murmurs, face now only inches from his own. Jeff chuckles and tilts his head down to capture the man’s smiling lips in a kiss, having long since learned that Ace will keep talking until he gets the last word.

* * *

Jeff remembers when he first realized Ace’s friendliness might be more than just looking out for a brother. He’d gotten back from a trial where he had to transform, and his shirt had been ripped during the process, getting snagged on a tree branch. Back at camp, he loaned a needle and some thread from Quentin to mend the garment. He’d gone to the edge of camp and pulled the shirt off, not realizing he had an audience until he heard a gasp.

Jeff saw some of the girls look over, and he flushed a little at being on display. He wasn’t particularly self-conscious about his body, but the only other person to ever have been shirtless in camp was David, and he knew his own physique was vastly different from the brawler’s. Still, Jeff saw Nancy blush and Zarina avert her eyes, and Kate even blew him a little kiss—which made him feel a little better—before the trio went back to their previous conversation.

And then he spotted a blatantly staring Ace, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. So Ace had a certain kind of reputation, flirting with everyone and even trying some pick-up lines on the killers, and Jeff was no stranger to the occasional cheesy compliments. He expected a tacky wolf-whistle, or maybe some more bear puns due to the generous amount of hair covering his chest, but instead Ace just kept ogling him.

“Well?” Jeff had finally asked, bolder than he meant to, but it made Ace snap out of it and look up at his face, blinking a couple times as to piece his thoughts back together.

“Don’t stop on my behalf,” Ace eventually purred, offering an exaggerated wink before his gaze dropped down to Jeff’s jeans. Jeff gave an amused snort and shook his head in exasperation, sitting down on a tree stump to start fixing his shirt. But some of his focus remained on the gambler, and out of the corner of his eye he caught Ace sneaking glances and fidgeting more than usual, like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with his hands, trying and failing to appear casual.

* * *

A warm hand cups his cheek, and Jeff can’t see himself ever tiring of kissing Ace. If he had his art supplies, he’s pretty sure he could fill an entire gallery with just Ace as his muse. The way his well-trimmed goatee scrapes against Jeff’s own unruly beard, the faint scent of cheap cologne that seems permanently etched into some of his shirts, and the slight softness around his hip when Jeff wraps and arm around him. The way he moans when Jeff bites at his lip, and the way it makes Jeff’s heart flutter and warm feelings of affection spread through his chest.

Ace lays down on the ground and pulls Jeff with him, hands wrapped around his neck and lips never leaving each other’s. Jeff cups the back of Ace’s head to cushion the fall against the ground, careful to guide him away from the rock they have been leaning against.

Ace’s long limbs are sprawled out below Jeff and he tries to deepen the kiss, groaning softly and hands tangling in Jeff’s ponytail. Ace is not a patient man, as Jeff had figured out even before they started dating. Still, Jeff wants to savor the moment, feeling even more sentimental than usual due to the fond memories of the man. He pulls away from the kiss, moving to pepper Ace’s stubbled jawline with butterfly kisses while the other swears softly and yanks at his hair in retaliation.

* * *

He'll never forget realizing his own feelings for the man ran much deeper than friendliness and a fleeting infatuation. It had been an easy trial, generators popping left and right while Ace kept the Hillbilly busy. Dwight got the gate open just as Ace finally took a chainsaw to the back and went down with a scream, and Jeff and the remaining two teammates started planning a rescue, their chances looking good as Nea had brought Borrowed Time into the trial.

However, instead of hooking Ace, the killer had merely stood above his prone body, revving his chainsaw menacingly. Ace had clearly managed to get under his skin, and now he was going to make sure the man bled out on the ground even if it meant displeasing the Entity. Jeff didn’t blame Nea and Dwight for leaving, as there wasn’t anything they could do. But he could.

Jeff looked up at the full moon above the Autohaven junkyard and let himself transform into the alter form he hated so much, his determination drowning out some of the pain. With the steadily ticking end game timer leaving no time to waste, Jeff took off in a sprint back into the trial grounds, his four legs carrying him much faster than any other survivor could run.

The Hillbilly spotted him charging and as Jeff tackled the killer to the ground and away from Ace, the grimy chains of the machine dug into the flesh of his shoulder through the thick fur. It was far from enough to stop him, and he roared in pain and lifted his massive paw up to strike at the killer. The next few seconds were a blur, but soon the killer underneath him wasn’t moving at all and the discarded chainsaw laid to the side, sputtering quietly.

Not wasting any more time on the killer, Jeff hurried over to where Ace was laying. Relief flooded through him upon seeing the man was still conscious, looking at him even while he was too tired to lift his head up from the muddy ground.

“Didn’t have to come back for… little old me,” Ace croaked, his voice barely above a whisper, forcing a pained, blood-stained grin on his face.

Jeff knew they didn’t have much time, both Ace’s injuries and the Entity’s impatience ensuring the gambler’s impending doom. Jeff had never been able to change back to a human at will, and thus was unable to tend to the man’s gaping wounds. Ace wasn’t getting out of here on foot, and they both knew it.

Jeff laid down on his stomach next to the man, rolling a little on his side to hopefully allow Ace to crawl on top of his back. He was either carrying the bastard out of here or dying laying next to him; he refused to leave the broken man to suffer alone.

“Didn’t take you for a little spoon,” Ace, mangled badly enough to barely have the energy to raise his arm forward, still joked weakly. Jeff let out a small sigh, both relieved and annoyed, but it came out more like a low growl. Ace didn’t seem to care, his shaky hand finding purchase in the fur of Jeff’s neck and gripping tight. Jeff rolled back on his feet, hauling Ace’s mostly limp body with him. With only a small shrug he managed to position the man securely on his back, heart clenching painfully at the distressed gasp the other let out when his broken body was jostled around.

The ground was opening into angry red cracks by the time he managed to run out of the exit. He’s pretty sure Ace passed out on the way to the campfire, hanging limply over his back and the pained huffs of air calming to raspy breaths against Jeff’s neck. But at least he was alive.

* * *

Ace’s eyes are full of life when he pulls away from their kiss and smirks roguishly. His thigh bumps against Jeff’s knee and a hand is on his shoulder, and suddenly Jeff is on his back as Ace rolls them over. Ace is now straddling him, a hand on his chest holding him down and a playful grin on his face at having bested him. Jeff takes in his handsome features, his familiar silhouette illuminated against the perpetual night sky, the moonlight framing him beautifully—

“Shit,” Jeff breathes, and he barely has time to shove Ace off of him and roll the opposite way to put distance between them, a piece of his heart breaking at the surprised yelp when his lover falls back to the forest floor. And then, every muscle in his body is burning and he grits his teeth as his spine starts snapping and his nails dig into the ground, the moon awakening an ancient power inside of him that demands to be let out.

Ace’s voice is drowned out during the transformation, the pain and his own self-loathing silencing all his senses. He’s normally in control of his curse, but he hadn’t noticed the sky clearing up, and then he was suddenly on his back and staring right at the moon.

Now fully turned, Jeff bolts into the woods, leaving Ace and the small forest clearing behind, too ashamed to face the man he could have ended up crushing under his weight, or worse. Jeff screws his eyes shut and keeps running, needing to get away—

And then he smashes into something and everything goes black.

* * *

“Thanks for earlier,” Ace had said, approaching Jeff with a spring in his step, and it was a relief to see after the close call with the Hillbilly.

“No worries,” Jeff said, scooting over on the ground to make room next to the log he was leaning on, in case Ace decided he wanted to join. “Feeling better?”

“Like a new man!” Ace beamed with familiar bravado, happily taking the offered seat. “Kate and Adam patched me up. Can’t complain,” he grinned suggestively.

“Glad to hear,” Jeff said. He’d never been a particularly jealous person, and he knew Kate and Adam were both attractive. Still, the comment made something sting painfully in his chest.

“You know… I always thought you and Kate were an item,” Ace mused, slumping down against the log and moving his hands to cushion his neck. He was trying so hard to seem nonchalant, but Jeff caught his eyes flickering to Jeff’s face behind the shades. Maybe Jeff wasn’t the only one who was jealous.

“Hmm,” Jeff hummed in acknowledgement. “She’s not my type. Though I can see why you’d think that; she flirts with everyone, so it’s hard to tell when she means it.”

Ace, predictably, didn’t miss the on-the-nose subtext of his statement. The man gave a small smile in agreement, before leaning further back to look up at the stars.

“Want to play a game?” Ace asked, still looking up at the sky but a smirk now spreading over his lips.

“Sure,” Jeff said, shoving down the feeling of being a pawn in a game he didn’t yet see the bigger picture of. He’d never been much for bets or gambling, but surely, this was all in good nature.

“Truth or dare?” Ace asked, turning his head Jeff’s way and showing him the mischievous grin in its entirety.

“Truth,” Jeff decided, smiling at the childish choice of game but curious to see what the other came up with.

“What _is_ your type?” Ace prodded. “If Kate doesn’t cut it, I don’t know what will,” he joked.

“Hmm,” Jeff pretended to mull over the question. “I’m terribly fond of idiots who provoke the killer enough to get tunneled for five gens. And then use their dying breath as a chance to make inappropriate jokes.”

“Really now?” Ace asked, his smile somehow stretching even wider, but not lifting a finger to make any sort of move.

“Truth or dare?” Jeff asked, obediently playing along with the other’s little game.

“Dare,” Ace said, the word sounding a lot more husky as he removed his shades and gave Jeff a coy look.

Jeff only hesitated for a heartbeat.

“Kiss me.”

When Ace immediately sprung to action, leaning into him and eagerly moving his lips against Jeff’s like it was something he’d wanted to do for a long time, Jeff realized he’d played right into Ace’s hand.

Did he mind? Hell no.

* * *

Jeff fades back into consciousness to the sounds of a conversation.

“—but he didn’t mean to! If anything, it was my fault!” He recognizes Ace’s voice anywhere. It sounds like his lover is arguing with someone, but Jeff’s body refuses to move or even blink awake, stuck on the edge of consciousness.

“I told you, he’s dangerous! Whatever it is you think you have, it’s bad for all of us!” He thinks that’s Jane, which would make sense. She’s been one of the most vocal about seeing Jeff for the monster he is.

“What we have is a whole load of ‘mind your own damn business’,” Ace argues. “And I’m not going to ditch him just because you’re scared!”

“You’re insane! You’re going to end up hurt!” Jane tries to reason, and the words cut deep into Jeff’s heart because he knows she’s right. He has no right to be with Ace, but he so desperately wants to.

“Look here you prude _bitch_ ,” Ace snaps, and Jeff shares the sentiment of who he thinks is Claudette gasping. He’s never heard Ace insult anyone like that, usually being much wittier and more composed with his criticism. “I know you hate my guts, so don’t try to pretend you give a shit about my well-being. You just want us both to be miserable.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” a gruff voice commands, footsteps approaching the scene.

“Bill, tell him—” Jane demands.

“You shut your mouth,” Bill shoots back, causing Jane to let out an affronted scoff. “Ain’t none of your business what those two—”

“He’s waking up,” Jeff hears Quentin’s voice right above him, not having realized the boy had been so close. The statement is followed by hurried shuffling, and by the time Jeff manages to blink his bleary eyes open, Ace’s blurry face is all he sees.

“Hey, big guy,” Ace is grinning shakily, his features slowly coming into focus. “Feeling better?”

“What happened?” Jeff asks, the lingering awkwardness from having overheard the fight making way for confusion. The last thing he remembers is transforming and running off, and then he blacked out.

“You turned into a bear, ran into a tree and knocked yourself out,” Jake deadpans from his left, sitting by Jeff’s side with some bandages in his hands. “Also, if you guys could stop fucking next to my camp by the glade, that would be great.”

“Didn’t realize there was an audience,” Ace snarks, shooting a glare Jake’s way. Jeff brings his hand up to his head, only to feel bandages wrapped around it. There’s a sting when he presses at his forehead.

“Managed to get a pretty nasty cut too,” Quentin says, slapping away his hand from poking at the wound. “I patched it up with some butterfly tape, shouldn’t bleed anymore.”

“Thank you,” Jeff says, offering a small bow of his head to both boys who apparently tended to his wounds.

“Thank us by staying the fuck away from the glade,” Quentin repeats, tired eyes fond even while his voice is filled with threat. Jake clears his throat awkwardly and Jeff fails to hide the surprise on his face. He never realized the two were more than friends.

“Yes yes, now shoo,” Ace butts in, waving the boys away and kneeling down next to Jeff. Jeff spares a glance over his shoulder and notices the others getting back to their normal tasks, apparently giving them some privacy. Though Jane still isn’t looking happy, angrily whispering something to Laurie, but he’ll take what he can get. “I was lucky Jake and Quentin were nearby, they came to check up on the noise and we were able to carry you back to camp. Oh, and apparently running head first into something makes you turn back!” Ace chatters nervously. “Wouldn’t recommend trying it again, though, seeing as you were in pretty bad shape—”

“Hey,” Jeff interrupts softly, grabbing Ace’s hand to ground the other’s racing thoughts. “I’m fine now. Thank you.”

Ace takes a shaky breath that seems to calm him down some. “Why did you run?” he asks in a low murmur, squeezing Jeff’s hand and not bothering to hide the hurt in his expressive eyes.

“I… freaked out,” Jeff confesses, fighting the urge to avert his eyes in shame. “The transformation is always unsettling, but because I didn’t see it coming, it was even worse. I was so afraid I’d accidentally hurt you.”

“I’m sorry, Pumpkin. I should have realized,” Ace says, eyes casting downward and a sad smile tugging at his lips. “It was my fault.”

“It was nobody’s fault,” Jeff lies, knowing full well the entire thing is one hundred percent on him. Jeff is the one responsible for his curse, and nobody else. Still, he knows the self-deprecating attitude wouldn’t fly with Ace, so he settles on an “It was just unlucky.”

“You know that word doesn’t exist in my vocabulary,” Ace jokes, looking up at him playfully and apparently accepting the reasoning.

“I said ‘unfortunate’, I don’t know what you heard,” Jeff teases and it makes Ace smile brightly and lean in for a quick peck on his lips. Jeff is pretty sure he hears a snort echoing from the other side of camp, but it doesn’t phase him.

“Soo,” Ace drawls, making himself comfortable leaning against Jeff who still doesn’t feel like his pounding head will allow him to walk properly. “Since we’re evidently being evicted from the usual spot, how about the next one not having a gigantic hole to see the moon? It’s not like there’s a shortage of trees around here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jeff murmurs, stroking his thumb over the back of Ace’s hand.

“How did you even end up picking a place like that in the first place?” Ace realizes, arching an inquisitive eyebrow.

“Because I know you like looking at the stars,” Jeff says, smiling fondly. So many times, in camp or the trials, he’d caught the other staring up at the sky, and each time he’d wished he could join him. Ace falters from the confession, surprise clear on his features before his face morphs into a familiar smile.

“You’re such a moron,” Ace says, all the creases and laugh lines that Jeff adores visible from how wide his smile is. “A romantic moron, but a moron nonetheless.”

Ace leans in for another taste of his lips and this time he lingers, treasuring the moment. And this time, Jeff is certain he hears an “Ugh, _gross_ ” from a disgruntled Feng followed by a snicker from Yui, but the comments don’t bother him. He has everything he could hope for right here.


End file.
